4

It would make sense to me that since they're considered the most intelligent house they'd be the most likely to use modern technology.

Do we see any modern technology used by them in the books or other sources (such as Pottermore for example)? Does the Ravenclaw Common Room have wifi?

That last bit was a joke in case anyone is experiencing a case of Woosh

Sydney Sleeper
  • 580
  • 6
  • 20
  • 5
    Are you aware that electricity doesn't work around magic? So no, no wifi. It was also the early 90s, wifi was just kicking off, most schools almost certainly didn't have open wifi and it's not like students were simply whipping out iPhones. – Edlothiad May 15 '18 at 12:47
  • More likely I agree, due to the curiosity and all, but as it is they just seem not to care (see this question). I'd say this question is covered in the linked one, since it answered for all magic community and not just Ravenclaw. Maybe the Ravenclaws aren't depicted as using Muggle technology just because their wits are "limited" to magic-related stuff? (Luna, wizard-born, wondered about "magicryptozoology" is an example I can think of...) – Jenayah May 15 '18 at 12:51
  • 2
    This answer seems to extensively answer your question, – Edlothiad May 15 '18 at 12:51
  • @Edlothiad on Hogwarts grounds yeah, but you don't stop being a Ravenclaw outside Hogwarts. Adult wizards might want to take a look at how stuff works. They're human after all, and humans tend to poke things to understand them. – Jenayah May 15 '18 at 12:54
  • 1
    "since they're considered the most intelligent house they'd be the most likely to use modern technology" I disagree with this -- they'd be the most likely to use extra-clever magic to do whatever "modern technology" would help them with. – MissMonicaE May 15 '18 at 13:17
  • I do and I'm a Ravenclaw. :) – Bishop May 15 '18 at 13:36
  • @Edlothiad I wonder about that. IIRC we never actually see anyone in the books try to use unenchanted modern technology in magic heavy areas. Thus, we really only have second hand reports to go on. And while I have no reason to doubt someone like Mr Weasley, I also wouldn't just take him at his word without performing some personal experimentation. With the books taking place in the mid to late 90's you'd think there would have been at least one muggle or mixed-blood student that'd have brought a Walkman or Discman to Hogwarts. – Xantec May 15 '18 at 16:18

1 Answers1

2

Well... Technology doesn't work well in magic-heavy areas. At all. There was a part in Chamber of Secrets which said that Muggle technology had to be enchanted in order to do anything at all, and it's likely that it wasn't the technology itself that was operating, but the magic it was imbued with. (It was the one where Arthur Weasley asked what a rubber duck was used for, if that helps.)

If I were to guess, no one uses advanced technology of any kind in Hogwarts (and by advanced, I mean medieval+), but members of all four houses use it when they leave. It would be pretty hard to disguise the use of magic if you refuse to use lightbulbs, for example.

Ave Roma
  • 155
  • 4
  • You'd think if that was actually true there would be some mention of it in the acceptance letters. Especially the letters sent to first year students living in muggle or mixed homes. – Xantec May 15 '18 at 16:09
  • 1
    You can check this if you want. Electronics (and especially computers) are universally seen to not function in the series, and magic is used to replicate the effects of technology. Why this isn't in the acceptance letters, I don't know, but a cursory examination of how Hogwarts works can confirm this, – Ave Roma May 15 '18 at 16:40
  • 1
    So I know this is by word of author, but it just makes no sense. Even if you hand wave that electricity somehow fails because of magic, for mechanical mechanisms to fail just doesn't make sense. That's breaking basic cause and effect. And you can make really complicated mechanical mechanisms. Like cars. Even mechanical calculators! Throw in that many wizards are muggle born, and I find the idea that they don't use any "muggle devices" at all really absurd. Though I know that's just my opinion. – Kai May 15 '18 at 17:42
  • Not to be "that guy", but this is hardly the biggest breach of physics in the series. If I were to take a guess on that one, that was when we saw someone fire a magical death laser from a stick. – Ave Roma May 15 '18 at 17:48
  • Yeah, I get what you're saying, but this particular detail bugs me because it's like you're saying that if a mechanism has enough gears, they'll stop pushing on each other when you spin them, that is, basic cause and effect no longer apply. That's such a breakage of the rules of reality, why would it be limited to only mechanical devices? Wouldn't cause and effect be generally broken in places with intense magic fields? Though maybe Harry Potter would be more interesting that way. – Kai May 15 '18 at 18:48
  • I have no real way of explaining why this doesn't work, and there's no way to answer it that doesn't involve a substantial amount of handwaving. However, I have an idea: What if it's only electricity that doesn't function well, and pre-electric machines (most clockworks, for example) were too huge, heavy, ineffective, and expensive compared to magic to use, seeing as how the only people who could afford such things are magically powerful enough that they wouldn't logically need them for anything. – Ave Roma May 15 '18 at 19:23
  • @Kai That's like this question. One muggle born student brings a pen and everyone would want one. ("A quill loaded with ink? That's awesome. Can I buy one from you?") And all it relies on is gravity, air pressure, and surface tension. – Xantec May 16 '18 at 11:10